A dirty great big hole in the ground ...
Trip Start
Dec 17, 2007
1
18
26
Trip End
Jan 19, 2008
Fish River Canyon,
Namibia
Monday, January 14, 2008
The next day is one of the longest drives of the trip ... I don't really complain though, since the landscape provides its usual beautiful visual distraction as it switched between Mesa like landmasses and flat desert with the occasional Quiver tree ... accompanied by the aural distraction of my walkman.
We suffer here more than anywhere else as it is exceptionally hot ... and we cannot even open a window as the hot wind blowing through it makes it difficult to breathe... we have the comfort of our spray bottles and squirt guns ... where being wet is a welcome comfort ...
We pull into the village of Bethany for lunch in the shade of a tree ... some children gather and sit on the other side of the tree watching hungrily as we eat ... their slightly yellow complexion reveals them to be former bush people ... they are an attractive people with small facial features and slim bodies ... but this not a comfortable environment ... Joe gathers up the leftovers in a bag after and hands them to the children ...
Later that evening we arrive at our campsite ... after a quick dip in the pool we are off to view the Fish River Canyon ... apparently the second largest canyon in the world second only to the Grand of Arizona ... it is an amazing sight ... covering an impressively large area in two layers ... the first a drop caused by landmass movement to reveal a line of cliffs ... the next a meandering gorge cut out of the base by the Fish river ... not easy to capture on film as the light was hazy and the viewpoints faced into the sun ... but we sit and sip a beer as the sun drops behind the canyon ... it is yet another awesome sight ... a massive scar on the landscape made by nature ...
That night I pull two park benches together to sleep out under the stars ... Orion protects me as I drift off with dreams of wonders beheld and yet to come ...
This is my last night in Namibia ... sadly!!
